| “ | You're a journalist. A snoop. | ” |
| Superman | |
|---|---|
 Superman: The Man of Steel | |
| Born | Kal-El, Krypton, 1984 |
| Died | * Metropolis, 2010 (aged 25, first death)
|
| Occupation | Journalist, Vigilante |
| Family | House of El, Jonathan Kent, Martha Kent |
| Race | Kryptonian Alien Human |
| Location | Metropolis |
| Headquarters | Fortress of Solitude |
| Identities | Superman, Clark Kent, Jonathan Clark |
| Earth | Prime |
Superman also known as Clark Kent or Kal-El was the defender of Metropolis, he was the opposite of the Batman as well as the latter's greatest friend and ally. Superman is an alien from the distant planet of Krypton sent to Earth upon the destruction of Krypton by his father.
Considered the most powerful being and "demigod" on Earth, Superman, if malignant, would make the most dangerous threat to all of mankind, being potentially unstoppable. The only being whose powers rival those of Superman's were those of Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter and Shazam.
Although initially quite cocky, brash and quick to anger, Superman's will to protect the people resulted in his attitude mellowing out over the years. Eventually becoming one of the more serious heroes, Superman transformed into the world's role model, a person everybody aspired to be.
Methodology[]
Unlike other superheroes, there was no true tragedy in Clark Kent's life other than his own existance. Being an alien, alone in the entire Earth, was what seperated Clark from everybody else and made him a loner. Upon the deaths of his adopted parents, Clark realized that his extraordinary powers did not make him any less human than the rest of Earth and he was not exempt from human laws. Clark was to use his powers to inspire people to do the right thing, rarely interfering unless he needed to. The point of Superman was to show people the righteous path and ensure they could achieve it by themselves. Hence, despite greatly wanting to take down oppressive warlords, end poverty and stop wrongful death, as Superman, Clark decided it was better to set the example and try to let the rest of humanity solve the problems on their own rather than look to him as a solution.
Biography[]
Rise to Fame[]
Upon the pending destruction of Krypton, the biological father and mother of the infant Kal-El, Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van, attempted to escape with their child into the Phantom Zone. However, Xa-Du, trapped in the zone, would attack Jor-El, with the threat to raise Kal-El with hatred and make him Zod's heir, they were unable to leave. Finding no other way, Jor-El rocketed Kal-El out to the planet Earth, with the Brainiac AI in his rocket.
Kal El landed in Smallville and was found by Jonathan Kent and Martha Kent, who raised him as if he was their own son. The two cared for him in the moments of insecurity he faced when confronting the powers he gained. The two taught him ideals that he was to use the powers he gained under Earth's Yellow Sun for the greater good of the world. Eventually visited by the Legion of Super-Heroes, who gave him a Legion Ring, inspring an idea which Clark realized years later. When he was a teenager, Clark still would not fit in, blaming this on the fact that he had powers and was getting more powers that others did not have. Despite this, he would manage to have a serious relationship with Lana Lang, who he fell in love with. Clark's relationship with Lana would have it's ups and down, such as him flying for the first time in order to save her and Jedediah Colder attacking him for flying.
On Clark's prom night, Martha died in a car crash, leaving Clark heartbroken, especially as Jonathon died of a heart attack shortly after surviving the attack. After a few years, Clark left Lana and Smallville behind, heading to Metropolis. There, Clark became a journalist and joined the Daily Star in an effort take down the city's corrupt. Contacted by a man named Icarus, Clark was given hints about impending disastors. Clark also became good friends with James Olsen, a photographer for the Daily Planet, and rival of Lois Lane. However, Clark quickly decided that journalism would not be enough in his efforts against corruption and decided on vigilantism.
To fight crime, Clark got several T-Shirts made with a strange "S" symbol on it. Months prior to his public debut as a vigilante, Clark decided to test his limits in the Zero Year of Gotham City. Checking if he could make the Blackout less brutal by stopping the hurricane, Clark ended up failing, though he did save a freighter and helped people make shelter to stave off the hurricane. Months later, due to his shirts, Clark ended up becoming known as Superman and quickly became an urban legend in Metropolis. Superman's first order of business was taking down Glen Glenmorgan, the corrupt Mr. Metropolis. Clark was officially coined Superman after saving a child from getting hit by an oncoming train. Superman made his public debut when he made Glenmorgan confess to his sins. During this time, Superman was captured by Lex Luthor by the request of the U.S Government and was tortured. Soon after, Superman faced the Collector of Worlds and saved the city of Metropolis from doom, becoming a beloved hero while also learning about his Kryptonian origins. Superman also reprogrammed the Collector's ship into becoming his first Fortress of Solitude.
After a brief foray in Gotham City to meet with Bruce Wayne, Clark became Superman and tried to deal with the Batman, who had arrived in Metropolis. The battle was interrupted by a New God that transported the two to Earth 2. There Clark fought the Batman of that Earth, not realizing it to be a "different" person until that Earth's Jonathan Kent showed up. After embracing this new Earth's version of his parents, Superman was met by his counterpart, who introduced him to Earth 2's Lois Lane, who just so happened to be "Superman 2's" wife. However, the Wonder Woman of Earth 2 then revealed Lois to be possessed by Kaiyo the Trickster. Kaiyo then had Superman and Superman 2 team up with Batman and Batman 2 to find a crystal with which to stop the Apokolips War. In the end, Kaiyo decided to reside on Earth Prime, wiping Superman's memory of meeting with Batman and travelling to Earth 2 and meeting his counterpart. However, when the Parademon Invasion of Earth occured, Superman was forced to team up with Batman, Green Lantern, Flash, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Cyborg. After repelling the invasion of Darkseid, the team became known collectively as the Justice League and often fought threats together. Out of the team, though, Clark's best friend was surprisingly his opposite, Batman. During this time, Superman learned valuable lessons from the Justice League as to not meddle in the affairs of other countries or participate within wars or such. This helped to bring Superman's arrogance down a tad more as he learned that his main goal was to simply protect the Earth from threats that nobody else could help with. Switching over to the Daily Planet, Clark found himself at an identity crisis all the while being stalked by Nimrod the Hunter. Temporarily abandoning the identity of Clark Kent, Superman returned to it after deciding it to be the best for him. He also came into contact with the Metaleks, Captain Comet and the Multitude. After fights with Erik Drekken, Xa-Du and his reunion with Krypto, Superman found the brunt of his problems to be caused by Vyndktvx.
During this time, Superman's rivalry with Lex Luthor continued. Lex had become a major power in the city of Metropolis after the fall of Glenmorgan. However Lex wanted nothing more than to kill Superman, creating the K-Man to try and do so. Despite his weakness to Kryptonite, Superman managed to defeat the K-Man and raise the ire of Luthor. Superman's friendship with the Batman also continued to grow, with him joining the Dark Knight on an adventure with the Robin at the time. Soon after, Superman and Batman became the only members of the Justice League who truly trusted each other.
Superman battling the Hybrid.
Doomsday[]
Superman then faced his greatest challenge yet, Doomsday. A threat to all things imaginable, Superman was eventually forced to resort to the devilish creatures level and kill it, at the cost of his own life as well in the Battle of Metropolis. After an undisclosed amount of time, though, Superman was mysteriously revived and continued his status as the defender of Metropolis. Soon after once again experiencing his fight against the Multitude on Mars, the Anti-Superman Army made it's move against the Man of Steel by attacking him in the same fashion Doomsday did. Nearly killed by the Army, Superman bounced back and defeated the threat of Superdoom and ending the threat of Vyndktvx once and for all.
Reporting on an uprising in the country of Qurac, Clark secretly investigated the country as Superman for illegal arms only to get attacked by men in war machines. Finding one of these men to have altered their appearance to match that of Jimmy Olsen, Superman found more mystery in the country than he figured. Three weeks after Superman found his hand to be infected and his body to be morphing, the infection was removed but quickly became it's own creature entirely, a hybrid that merged Superman's Kryptonian DNA with it's own. Although Superman managed to subdue the Hybrid, his fight soon became with Lex Luthor, whom he discovered to be behind the Hybrid. Superman defeated Luthor and locked the madman in a prison of his own design.
Hell on Earth[]
After taking a long absence from crime fighting, Superman joined up with the Legion of Super-Heroes by going back in time and trying to prevent the Anti-Superman Army from stealing the Kryptonite Engine. Returning to his status as a public hero, Superman met his cousin, Kara Zor-El and fought to a draw with Helspont, a former commander of the Daemonites. Superman was subsequently defeated by Enchantress, Anguish, Graves and a strange mercenary creature in Russia. Superman also confronted Jason Todd, however, as per request from Batman, refused to turn the outlaw in against his own better judgment. Along with the rest of the Justice League, Superman defeated Graves in their rematch only to have relations within the League strained. Superman, however, ended up in a relationship with Wonder Woman.
Superman then learned the truth of the Daemonites and quit the Daily Planet after an argument with Morgan Edge. After being met another surviving Kryptonian, H'El, Superman was faced with the decision of choosing between Krypton and Earth. After realizing H'El to be a murderous madman, Superman also met his clone, Superboy. Calling on the Justice League, Superman managed to stop H'El by sending him back in time. Superman was present when the Justice League elected Rhonda Pineda, Firestorm and Element Woman as it's three newest members. Superman then aided Batman in fighting Will o' the Wisp, all the while confronting him about the death of Damian Wayne. Superman's sexual relationship with Wonder Woman continued, with the two intervening in the country of Kahndaq, further damaging the relationship between the Justice League and the public. Wonder Woman used the identity of Diana Prince when posing as Clark's girlfriend in the public. As such, their relationship began to progress further into one made for more than just sexual pleasure. After eight satellites fell from the sky, Superman found himself embroiled in a strange conflict with the Ascension and Wraith. Stopping the Ascension alongside Wraith in Paris, Superman learned that his fellow alien comrade too was powered by the Sun. Though initially working towards the same purpose, Wraith proceeded to demand Superman serve the United States military. However, before anything could come of their encounter, Ascension hacked the missile systems of every country and launched every nucler missile. Not going after the missiles, Superman stopped Ascension and used the Earthstone to stop the missiles. Fighting Wraith, Superman used a mineral devised by Batman to stop the "first Superman". However, this led to the Machine attacking the Fortress of Solitude. After defeating the Machine, Superman went to stop Wraith from killing Batman and Wonder Woman. Although their fight was one of Superman's finest, the Man of Steel was on the losing end for the most of it. Eventually figuring out how to stop Wraith, Superman took him to the mantle of the Earth where he neutralized him and left him for dead. Escaping back to the Fortress of Solitude, Superman learned that Wraith's home species had sent him as a means to use Earth to advance themselves and were now arriving to reap what they had sown. Confronted by Lex Luthor, through Jimmy Olsen, Superman learned that to stop the impending invasion, he would potentially have to sacrifice himself. Before he could do so, Superman was stopped by Wraith, who did the sacrifice himself and stopped the invasion.
As Clark Kent, his quitting the Daily Planet forced him to team up with socialite journalist Cat Grant. Deciding to launch a website to combat Morgan Edge, they decided on clarkcattropolis.com as a media website. Superman's great power soon led to him getting involved with the likes of Orion and Hector Hammond, eventually leading into the event that became known as Psi War. In the events leading to the conflict, Superman continued to get involved with Hammond, going so far as getting into conflict with the H.I.V.E. and the Pax Galactica. His involvement with the Pax Galactica led into him fighting Lexus. The H.I.V.E. Queen even managed to defeat Superman and embrace his unconscious body and later on had him temporarily join H.I.V.E.; that was until Hammond wrestled Superman free of her control and left him to confront and battle Psycho Pirate. Shortly after the end of the Psi War, Superman was informed by the Oracle of the existence of an alternate Krypton whose history was threatening to overtake his. Managing to stop the alternate Krypton and defeat H'El once again, Superman again saved the world. Soon after he fought Parasite for the first time. He later had another encounter with the energy absorbing being created due to his battle with Lex Luthor. Regarding the Daemonites, Superman had an encounter with Starfire and learned of them slowly attempting to conquer Earth. Upon returning to Earth, Clark and Bruce were forced to team up to try and stop Mongul from invading the Earth. Managing to use the Golden Fury spores against Mongul, the world's finest duo defeated the invader and locked him in the Phantom Zone.
Doomed[]
Eventually, Clark and Diana did fall in love.
After checking up on Despero with Diana, Superman was met by Pandora. Being called the purest at heart, it was requested that he open her box. The box managed to take control of Superman, simply because he was more human at heart than anybody else. Discovering a superpowered American to be in Kahndaq, Superman went there and fought him, Shazam. The two were evenly matched, but stopped the fight when the Justice League arrived with Zatanna. Immediately afterwards they were met by the new Justice League of America. When Arthur Light accidentally attacked Diana, though, Superman lost control and accidentally killed him. The first stage of the Trinity War ended with an enraged Superman incapacitating the League and the JLA, demanding to be locked up. Very soon, though, he was freed by the Question, who offered him his hand and the opportunity to find out who actually killed Arthur Light. Leading his own group with the Question, Superman, his condition rapdily deteriorating made his way to Athens, Greece where he confronted Batman and Wonder Woman's groups for the box. The ensuing chaos ended when Superman ended up unconscious due to a sliver of Kryptonite in his brain. The Crime Syndicate went on to imprison Superman in the Firestorm Matrix where his guilt overtook him and made him desire to turn back time and reverse Light's death. Eventually rescued from the Matrix by Batman, Superman ironically underwent brain surgery headed by Lex Luthor. Shortly afterwards, Luthor made a plea to join the League, which Superman vehemently rejected. Not long after, with the Batman Family, the Superman Family helped deal with Jochi and Warworld.
Whilst continuing to get closer to Diana, Clark was contacted by the Justice League to handle a storm near Norwegia. He uncovered the resurgence of Doomsday, but was unable to handle the beast as he was soon after shocked by the survival of the Kryptonian, General Zod. However, Zod betrayed him and due to interference by Apollo Phoebus, brutally beat him as well. When Zod freed Faora, Superman and Wonder Woman ended up locked away. Knowing they had to stop Zod, Clark used Diana's sword to split an atom and cause a nuclear explosion, destroying the inter-dimensional gate and shuttling the mad Kryptonians back to the Phantom Zone. Although the solar radiation purged the atomic radiation from his cells, for Clark, the process was very painful. Later, Clark discovered an inter-dimensional breach at Venezuela and made his way there to find an alien dinosaurid attacking. Discovering the creature to actually be an extraterrestrial boy named Baka, Clark took him to the Fortress. His association with Baka led him into conflict with Ukur and the Ghost Soldier. After dealing with Baka and Ukur, Superman incapacitated Ghost Soldier and went to confront the Tower. This led to a heated argument with Tower leader Harrow. Superman and Bruce then had an adventure with their Earth 2 relatives, Power Girl and the Huntress. This meeting and their fight with Kaizen Gamorra then caused their original true first meeting memories to resurface. Confronting Kaiyo the Trickster, the two were shuttled into the past of Earth 2, after which they returned to their own Earth and once again had their memories wiped. Amnesic and in Gotham City, Superman found himself mysteriously allied with Catwoman. Played by Lord Satanus, the amnesic Man of Tomorrow, without the morals in his memories guiding him, began to recklessly pursue Ralph Mangubat.
Shortly after meeting the Eradicator and of his premonition, Superman learned of the return of Doomsday. Finding the monster in Africa, and later Mumbai, he shuttled it to Venus where the two fought each other to exhausting measures. After returning to Smallville, the two again fought, where a victorious Superman killed the beast by ripping it in two. However, he ended up being infected by the Doomsday Virus during the fight and after a slight reprieve at the Fortress, headed to his Metropolis apartment. There, while he began to degenerate, was met by Diana who managed to force the virus into becoming inert. After regaining control, Superman handed himself over to the authorities. Due to Brainiac, Superman lost control, escaped and destroyed Detritus. After being attacked by Metallo and the Atomic Skull, Superman was doused in an aerosol cloud of Kryptonite, causing his transformation into Superdoom to worsen. After momentarily regaining control over Superdoom, Clark fled into space, avoiding the Red Lanterns and destroying asteroids. Taken to the galaxy of Krypton by Supergirl, Clark witnessed Hakar destroying the Char, intervening and allowing the colonists to escape, Clark then let Superdoom take control. He then began to brutalize Hakar before returning to Earth to save Lana and Steel. Realizing that he could only beat the fleet of the Cyborg Superman by giving into the Doomsday Virus, Clark did so, thereby starting the Battle of Earth. During the entire battle, Clark struggled with accepting what exaclty Superdoom meant to him: a struggle with him handling the responsibility of his power. When Brainiac gained the upper hand, Clark gave in to Superdoom and unleashed the beast on the collector. Winning the Battle of Earth and ridding himself of the Doomsday Virus, Clark was captured shortly thereafter by the Brainiac God, starting Convergence and made to witness his past deaths in the Lost Timelines. After the Brainiac God left, however, Clark escaped and encountered Telos, who banished Clark and let him leave, although his memories were wiped as well.
Returning to Earth, Clark learned that over 13000 died in the Battle of Earth and began to write his piece suggesting the world did not need Superman but found himself quickly drawn back into action to stop a renegade present he gifted to Diana. He was then amazed at how quickly a mysterious force began to overtake Smallville, believing it to be a direct result of the Battle of Earth. Learning the force to be the Ultra-Humanite, Superman defeated it. After this battle, Superman fell through the cracks of the Multiverse and landed on Earth 29. When the Onyx Army began to destroy Paradise Island, Superman headed there to aid Wonder Woman and attacked Deathstroke, fighting the enhanced mercenary and swiftly defeating him. Told by Wonder Woman that Deathstroke was helping, Superman also joined in the fight against Lapetus. Superman returned to Earth 0 shortly thereafter and found his friends in danger by a mysterious force. Initially believing it to be Lobo, with the help of Ray Palmer and Batman, Superman discovered it to be Xa-Du and defeated the evil Kryptonian.
Tomorrow[]
With his blog beginning to fail, Clark began to contemplate returning to the Daily Planet and eventually decided to take his old job back. Taking a hero named Ulysses under his wing, Superman later accidentally caused the destruction of the Great World of the Fourth Dimension in order to save Earth. Defeating Ulysses with a solar flare, Superman found the ability left him practically human.
Superman later witnessed the Convergence and was saved from death by the Oracle. Returning to Earth, Clark Kent began investigating the Infinity Corporation and as Superman, was astounded at the survival of Rao - the God of Krypton. Although initially on Rao's side, Superman was made aware of the God's villainy by the Justice League and turned against his progenitor.
Superman while depowered.
Returning to the Daily Planet, Clark began to be blackmailed by HORDR_ROOT, fought shadow creatures and admitted being Superman to Lois. Continuing to fight HORDR, Superman discovered himself greatly depowered and betrayed when Lois revealed his identity to free him from HORDR's grasp. Heading to the Fortress of Solitude, a depowered Clark fought more shadow creatures and was rejected by his home. Returning to Metropolis, Clark found himself at odds with the Metropolis Police Department, fought more shadow creatures and defeated their leader, Mayor Wrath. Superman was infected and immobilized by a strange strain of Joker Venom, preventing him from helping Batman during the Second Skirmish Below Gotham. This strain of Joker Venom also resulted in Superman using the last of his reserve energy and was the last time he acted at full power for a while.
Sure that Lex Luthor was behind his power drain, Clark confronted his enemy but was told to head to Gotham. Finding himself at odds with a new Batman, Superman learned the organization called Dawn Command was behind his troubles. Unable to beat Dawn Command, Clark bid the new Batman good riddance. Finding an amnesic Bruce, Clark bid his old friend adieu.
Taking a respite with Diana, Clark came to odds with the government over the truth. In a desperate attempt to recharge himself, Clark tried to shuttle himself into the Sun. Stopped by Diana, Clark broke up with her but still apprehended Angelo Bend with her. Tracking Wrath, Superman fought the child of Vandal Savage and stopped her from destroying Houston. Later trapping HORDR_ROOT, Superman defeated the villain, trapped him in a USB and gave him to Mr. Terrific.
Contacted by the new and suspicious Batman, Superman tracked the warriors of Dawn Command. Attacked directly by Vandal Savage, Clark was pummelled until rescued by Batgirl. Finding one of Vandal Savage's bases, Superman received assistance from the Batman Family. Attacking Savage directly, with the help of the new Batman, Superman defeated his immortal enemy - albeit temporarily.
Heading to the Watchtower, Superman was shocked when he was not invited to a mission to stop an anomaly. Heading down to Metropolis to help the people on the street, Superman was horrified when he realized that Vandal Savage, piloting the Carrier, destroyed the Watchtower. With the Watchtower incapacitated, Superman continued to try and help people. Confronted via comms by Vandal Savage, Superman learned it was the immortal who took his powers and united HORDR_ROOT with Wrath. Finding help from the Justice League United, Superman freed Diana.
Wounded, Clark was taken to the Gods by Diana, who tested and then healed him. Finding Steve Trevor to use Kryptonite chemotherapy, Superman submerged himself in his poison to defeat Puzzlerbot. Powered by Kryptonite, Superman fought Salvaxe and rushed to the Fortress of Solitude. Breaking in, Superman was trapped in a force field but rescued by Wonder Woman. When one of Savage's spaceshps came crashing down to Earth, Superman allowed himself to be crushed underneath to stop the impact. Saved once again by Wonder Woman, Superman worked with Lois, Metallo and Diana to fight off more of Savage's children but was forced to take Metallo's heart. When Savage boarded a shuttle to reach his comet, Superman tried once more to stop him but was hit by a toxin filled bullet designed to remove his powers. Ironically the bullet also purged him of his infected cells and dropped him into his Fortress, which restored his armour and powers.
After neutralizing Savage's children, Superman went to stop the immortal madman once and for all. Despite Puzzlerbot's visions, Superman refused to give in to Savage's demands. Convincing Puzzlerbot to help him, Superman finally defeated Vandal Savage. With the crisis over and his powers back all the way, Clark began to enjoy life with his friends once more.
During the Darkseid War, Superman was shunted to Apokolips by Lena Luthor and infected with the negative energy of the Fire Pits. Using a solar flare, Superman was able to get rid of his infection and hurt Mobius. In the aftermath, though, Superman was informed by Silas Stone that the Fire Pits' infection was killing him.
Superman Returns[]
Using the Fortress of Solitude to check his physical health, Clark was hit by a startling revelation - that the infection of the Fire Pits was indeed killing him. Realizing that due to the addition of the Kryptonite poisoning he would not have long left, Clark decided to get his affairs in order and start visiting his friends, starting with Lana Lang. Enjoying a brief moment with Lana, Clark made it clear that he wanted to be buried next to his adoptive parents. Next, Clark decided to visit Lois Lane, picking her up and taking her for a fly he decided that he would tell her the complete story of Superman. Heading off to Batman, Superman told his best friend the news and the two decided to work together to find Supergirl, fighting dragons along the way.
Heading to National City and breaking into DEO, Superman told Supergirl that she would soon be the last member of the House of El. Heading with Supergirl to the Fortress of Solitude, Superman was confronted about his condition by Wonder Woman. Reconciling with Diana and resuming their relationship, Superman responded to a call with her and the two began to investigate a man claiming to be Clark. After his imposter temporarily freed Ulysses, Superman had to subdue his former rival before resuming his chase.
Heading to China with Diana and Bruce, Superman confronted the Great Ten and learned of China's Super-Man. After learning of an energy spike in Salinas, California, the Trinity headed there and Clark came face to face with an alternate version of himself from a dead timeline who quickly fled. Getting Batman to send Lois to safety, Superman and Wonder Woman began to fight his imposter, defeating him and learning him to actually be Denny Swan. When Swan recuperated, a weakened Clark was unable to fight back and was carried away by his imposter.
Refusing to claim Swan's lies as truth, Clark fought him and tried to tell him the truth behind their connection and their powers. Informing him that the energy within Swan was reaching a critical mass, a weakened Clark was unable to fight off Swan's power surges. Before Swan could kill him, though, Clark was saved by an arriving Supergirl. After Swan continued his onslaught by attacking Batman and Diana once more, Clark realized once more that he needed to neutralize his imposter for good. As he began to lose power, though, Clark was joined by his alternate version from the Modern Timeline, Clark White. Realizing that his death was inevitable, Clark blasted White away so he could protect the Earth. Just as Denny Swan detonated, Clark unleashed a solar flare with the hope that they would cancel each other out and let him absorb the energy. As he fell to Earth, Clark was caught by White and told by Batman that he succesfully absorbed the blast.
With his end mere moments away, Clark said his goodbye to Lana Lang, reminded Lois Lane to publish his story, told Supergirl to make him proud, thanked Steel for having his back and told Batman that the pleasure of saving lives together was all his. In his final words, Superman reaffirmed his love for Wonder Woman and passed away.
Legacy[]
Superman's body after his death.
Just as he died, Superman's body consumed all of the energy trapped inside him from within. With Superman dead, Lex Luthor saw it as a chance to further his own public image by adopting the mantle. Dr. Omen in China saw Superman's death as a realization that the world needed her Super-Man more than ever. In prison, Ulysses too was upset at Superman's death, primarily that he would no longer be the one to kill the Man of Steel. The citizens of Metropolis and Smallville ended up being consumed by grieving for their Kryptonian protector. While Jimmy Olsen ended up breaking his television in frustration, Lois Lane ended up publishing a story called Superman: A Hero's Life.
Alternate Futures[]
The life Superman ended up living was in truth an altered version of his true history, altered due to the meddlings of Vyndktvx. In reality, the life that Superman was supposed to lead was much of the same, but as Jonathan and Martha did not die when he was young, Clark Kent ended up marrying Lana Lang. Moving to Metropolis with his wife and parents, Clark still ended up becoming Superman and battling foes like Braniac and getting clobbered to death by Doomsday. Clark's marriage to Lana was to eventually dissolve, with him remarrying to Lois Lane, with whom he somehow had a son, Jon Lane Kent. Jon was taken from the couple by the time travelling Harvest, who managed to take the child before Vyndktvx could change the future. Due to Jon Lane Kent's existence, while this future did occur, it changed and was forgotten.
After the Earth 2 War, Clark was angered at what Bruce did to him to win the war and so he went out and confronted the Batman in the Batcave. Thier argument quickly became a fight, with Superman easily overpowering and nearly killing his best friend. Unable to comprehend what he did and had Shazam replace him to ensure his own powers could never be used for evil. Letting most of his friends and family believe him to be missing, Clark ended up farming in Ethiopia, in the most remote deserts where people rarely ever got water or food. One day he was met by a mystical sand being that looked like he did when he was Superman, it revealed it was born of mystical residue from a past encounter with Mr. Mxyzptlk. In it's final act, the being sacrificed itself to return the dry, harsh Ethiopian land to it's full potential, prompting Clark to question whether or not he was living up to his. Presumed missing by the entire world, eventually Kal-El returned, with a mysterious cyborg slaughtering entire populations in preparation. Luckily, when Kal did return, he was confronted by John Constantine instead of the cyborg. Refusing to believe himself as Superman anymore, Kal told Constantine to talk to the new Superman instead, only listening when informed the arriving threat was that of Brainiac. Starting to look for the cyborg, Kal-El returned just in time to save Constantine from it and quickly defeated it, only to learn that it had been testing his abilities. Claiming he could defeat Brainiac again, Kal-El was startled to learn that all previous times he had fought Brainiac, he had simply fought an avatar of the Brainiac God.
Powers[]
Essentially a living Solar Battery, under the light of the Yellow Sun of Earth, Superman possesses many different powers. His cells absorb and metabolize the energy coming from the Yellow Sun's light rays. This absorbtion gives him access to several different powers. It most prominently makes him invulnerable to almost every weapon on Earth, with his skin being much sharper than a diamond. This invulnerability came in good use as he was also a masterful hand to hand martial artist. Only weapons from alien worlds were strong enough to be much of a match for Superman. Even when he was injured, Superman possessed a healing factor that allowed him to heal faster than humans. He was also able to hear and smell objects from much further away, allowing him to sense danger in several places.
| Power | Description |
|---|---|
| Superhuman Strength | Superman was more powerful than a speeding locomotive, making him the strongest creature on Earth. His strength only grew as he aged. Certain feats that he could not handle at one time were possible at another. |
| Superhuman Speed | With a speed faster than anything but the Flash, Superman could ran great distances. His running speed quickly grew to be faster than lightning, though he often chose to fly. |
| Superhuman Vision | Superman had the ability to zoom in his vision, seeing details from great distances away with amazing accuracy. This vision could either be telescopic or microscopic, sometimes both. |
| Superhuman Breath | Superman could inhale or exhale great amounts of gases at a single time. This gave him the ability to exinguish fires easily. He could even amplify the oxygen he absorbed, able to make it freeze on objects. |
| Heat Vision | Superman could emit some of the solar energy he absorbed from his eyes. These beams resembled lasers. They did not always come out as lasers, though as he could also heat an object by simply concentrating and looking at it. |
| X-Ray Vision | Superman had the ability to amplify the wavelength of his vision, allowing him to see in X-Rays. Although he could change it to other wavelengths, X-Rays were the most common as they allowed him to see problems within others. |
| Flight | Although he was originally only able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, as time went on Superman gained the ability to fly as well. Coupled with his super-speed, Superman could fly all across the Solar System. |
After bathing in the sun, Superman could recharge himself to full power and heal all injuries. Absorbing solar radiation would also purge atomic radiation from his cells, although this process was painful. Being subjected to a source of solar radiation as pure as the energy blasts of Apollo Phoebus would "supercharge" Superman. Essentially, this would enhance all of his abilities by an enormous degree, making him stronger, faster and his radiation powers more potent.
While most of Superman's early abilities were due to the differences in Krypton's gravity and atmosphere in comparison to Earth, as Clark began to access more of his powers, the more dependent each power became on solar energy. As such, when using his solar flare, Clark eventually burned the solar energy in his cells. When recovering, Clark did not have access to most of his abilities as they had all grown to be connected to solar power. He was, however, still able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, have greater than usual strength and be faster than a regular human.
Armour[]
Superman wore unique Kryptonian armor which he obtained from the Collector's ship. The armour was synced to his DNA, allowing it to show up with any of his family's unique crests or symbols. The armor could also be attached to his body or be removed and downgraded into a simple paperweight resembling the House of El Family Crest. He later further developed the armor to shape shift into any type of human clothing.
After using his new power Solar Flare several times and losing his powers he traveled to the Fortress of Solitude via a motorcycle which took him several days. After arriving at the Fortress he was denied entry by the bases A.I system which told him that his DNA did not match Kal-El's and force-ably removed his Kryptonian armor. After his infected cells were removed, the Fortress grafted his armor back on to him.
Following Ka-El's death the suit was damaged beyond repair. The only thing that remained was the cape which was wrapped around him.
Relationships[]
Bruce Wayne[]
Despite being completely opposite of Bruce Wayne, the pinnacle of human achievement and only true threat to Superman, the Man of Tomorrow was the only member of the Justice League that the Batman trusted. This is because despite all of their differences, they were very much alike, and though each had suspicions on each other, they were both the best of friends.
Diana of Themyscira[]
Both Superman and Wonder Woman were both seen as strange outsiders when they first debuted to the public and were initially looked upon with grieve mistrust and later sincere honour. For this, during their tenure in the Justice League, Superman and Diana got along better than most other people. However, when Steve Trevor would be injured, Diana would end up coming to blows with Superman, although the relationship remained positive between the two, as the brief scuffle was quickly forgotten.
Shortly after this the two shared their first kiss and began a romantic relationship. Although the relationship began due two their shared feelings of loneliness and isolation (and possibly because of primarily sexual attraction), the two did end up bonding emotionally very closely and eventually falling in love.
Team[]
Unlike his counterpart, Batman, Superman has barely participated in any teams.
- Legion of Super-Heroes - The first team that Superman had participated in. The Legion initially came to Superman from the future, they would later make sporaidic apperances to him, most of the time with him and them teaming up.
- Justice League - A team Superman joined shortly after his debut to the public. Due to Superman's presence as a well loved hero, it would be him that would make the rest of the heroes beloved to the public.
- Trinity - The teaming of Earth's Greatest Heroes: Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.
Alternate Universes[]
On Earth 2, there was also a Superman. This Superman was born Kal-L and too was the last son of Krypton, raised in the United States of America as Clark Kent. While the general history was much of the same, Kal-L was much older and became Superman much earlier, having a much deeper bond with his cousin, who became Power Girl. Kal-L also married his Earth's Lois Lane. Kal-L had advanced Earth 2 much more than Kal-El had Earth Prime, making it much more safe, essentially making Metropolis a utopia. On one known occassion, Kal-L teamed up with Kal-El to stop Kaiyo the Trickster, a New God who had been travelling through the Multiverse. This Superman sacrificed himself to save his Earth from the Apokolips War. Kal-L was later impersonated by Brutaal.
On Earth 23, Kalel was born to Jorel and Lara. Rocketed to Earth after the destruction of Krypton, Kalel was adopted by a kindly couple and raised as Calvin Ellis. Becoming Superman, he also launched a poltical career and rose, eventually becoming the president. Maintaining world peace as Superman, Kalel sought to inspire those around him.
Lost Timelines[]
While he existed in almost all of the universes in the Orrery of Worlds, Superman also existed in past versions of the Orrery and previous, ended timelines. The only record of these timelines was that the Brainiac God managed to collect a city from most of them. Oftentimes, a Superman was present somewhere in one of these cities.
Modern Timeline: In the Modern Timeline, Superman existed wearing a more fabric costume supported by trunks. Wise, powerful, and only brutal when need be, the mild mannered Clark Kent married Lois Lane and eventually began to expect a child with her. When he moved to Earth 0, this Superman took up the name Clark White. Following Superman's death Clark felt it was his duty to take his counterparts place and returned to the role of Superman once again.